Art of splitting shakes and a machine therefor



R. E. BIERD Dec. 26, 1

ART OF SPLITTING SHARES AND MACHINES THEREFOR Filed Sept. 29, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS INVENTOR R/cHA RD E. 81590 R. E. BIERD Dec. 26, 1944.

ART OF SPLITTING SHAKES AND MACHINES THEREFOR Filed Sept. 29, 1942 6 Sheets-SheetS R. E. BIERD Deg. 26, 1944.

ART OF SPLITTING SHAKES AND MACHINES THEREFOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 29, 1942 BY RD .E. li/sio ATTORNEYS R O N E V m R. E. BIERD Dec. 26, 1944.

ART OF SPLITTING SHAKES AND MACHINES THEREFOR Filed Sept. 29, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Rm ARD E. B/ERD v 774a..- ATTORNEYS Dec. 26, 1944.

R. E. BIERD Filed Sept. 29, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INV ENTOR R/GH RUE. B/ERD r 7 ATTORNEYS (use:

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ysn'rorsr 'rnnnaroa meme-u E. nie'rir, Seattle, Wash.

- ima September '29, 1942, Serial No. 460,141

" 4 Claims,

The present invention relates to splitting shingles, and in more particular, to the art of splitting shakes and a machine therefor.

In the prior art it has-always been considereddesirable to out the shingle block from one end only, and that end the buttend, so that the shingle would taper somewhat as the grain of the wood would run out. It has also been possible to vary this taper a small amount by biasing the frow with the point toward the block or toward the shake so as to throw the taper somewhat in either direction. However, this control of the taper has never been possible before with a shake splitting machine, and particularly a shake splitting machine in which the bolt or block was split from either end, and that in an alternate manner.

Having in mind these'defects of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to split shakes that have a material taper and to split such from both ends of a shingle block in an alternate manner.

Another object of the present invention is the construction of a machine which will split shakes that have a material taper and which'will split such shakes in alternate directions from a block.

A still further object of the present invention is the construction of a shake splitting machine that will split a shake from a block of wood in first one direction and then the other and which machine will regulate the taper of the split shakes.

Still another object of the present invention is the construction of a shake splitting'machine that will split shakes and in which machine the taper of the shakes may be controlled and varied.

A further object of thepresent invention is the construction of a shake splitting machine in {which the cutting. edge of the splitting knife'or frow may be biased toward or away from the block in a manner to govern the amount of taper to the plit shake. a

These defects of the prior art may be remedied and the above-mentioned object attained by the provision of a knife'that is rec'iprocated on a bed and the feeding to the knife of a bolt or block of wood in such a manner that the knife enters the bolt with the wood grain first from one end and then from the other, with the block being indexed the art of vice embodying the present invention;

for the knife carriage;

Figure 1 is a plan view of a shake splitting de- Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail view showing the chain drive Figure 4 is a partial view of the device showin the knife about to enter one end of the block;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 but showing the knife at the mid portion ofthe block;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figures 4 and 5,

' showing the knife after it has left the bolt and in a position to begin the return travel to cut another shake; s

Figure '7 is a detail view of the bolt support plate andv its operating cam, such as shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6;

Figure 8 is a view of a portion of the device shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, with the knife just at the end of the block and about to leave the block;

Figure 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Figures 1 and 2;

Figure 10 is a partial section on the line I0l0 of Figure 2;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of a portion of the carriage'and'its guide;

Figure 12 is a sectionalview showing the con nection between the drive chain and the car'- riage;

Figure 13 is a perspective view of the adjustable depth guide rails;

Figure 14 is a view of the depth adjusting sector arm and its attachment to the machine bed;

Figure 15 is a'perspective view of the shingle bolt feeding mechanism; and

Figure 16 is a perspective view of the au matic reversing carriage mechanism.

All of the mechanisms for the device are mounted upon a rectangular frame having a rectangular base made up of channels I. Each corner of the base carries upright corner posts},

. which support the bed or carriage ways a on each 4 side of the machine, and which are connected and braced by appropriate cross bracing. Each side channel 3 has attached thereto aland 4 to the knife a distance at each movement equal to the desired thickness of the'butt of the shake.

The knife is desirably one with a rather blunt is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which is secured to the side plates.

upon which'the knife carriage rides (Figure 9). The side plates 5 and B of the carriage have offset portions which ride upon the lands 4. Fit ting on top of the side plates is the knife 'I which Sliding in slots on the inner side of the side plates 5, 6 are stop bar guides 8, two to each side plate (Figures 5 and 11). The tops of these guides are connected transversely across the carriage by stop bars 9 upon which the shingle bolt is adapted to rest during a portion of the operation. These guides 8 and bars 9 are urged upwardly by the springs in acting through cranks. ll mounted on hearing rods l2. Also journaled in the side plates 5,

, blocks I l which support the roller l6.

wardly by means of a guide railsystem to be hereinafter described. This guide rail system also acts as a stop for the downwardmovement of the stop bars 9. Side plates 6, 6 also carry 'a,se s,osa

rear edge curved upwardly, and is provided with two rearwardly extending arms 4| slidably Journaled in suitable bearings pivoted on the lower side of the deck. The rear ends of .the'arms II are engaged by springs 46 which urgethe arms 1 46 and support Date 44 toward-the center of the bed. Stops 41 attached to the arms 46 limit the travel thereof. The support plates extend laterally enough so that the edges thereof will be ena reversing cam l6 whichis adapted to contact a suitable cam follower for reversing the carriage travel. Also attached to the carriage are two cams I1, I 8 which are adapted to operatethe shingle bolt feeding mechanism, and two cams I9, is adapted to operate the shingle bolt support plates, all later described.

At one end of the bed and crosswise thereof is joumaled a shaft 20, and at the other end a shaft 22. Secured on these shafts and adjacent the side channels and ends of the shafts are sprocket wheels 23. Passing over the sprocket wheels along each side of the side channels are chains 24. These chains are secured to the knife carriage by means of-a lost motion linkage and buffer springs (Figure 12), comprising the rod 25, the springs 26 and the carriage attached stop 21. This allows a reversing motion of the chains without motion of the carriage, and provides springs to absorb the initial starting shock or any other shock that may be transmitted to the carriage, such as by the engagement of the knife with a knot in the wood.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the weight of the end of the shingle bolt adjacent the knife when the knife is withdrawn from under the block, rests upon one of the stop bars 9. The downward travel of the stop bar 9 is limited by the position of the adjustable guide rails 30 (Figure 13). These guiderails are carried on cranks 3| secured rigidly to shafts 32 and 33 which may be journaled' in appropriate bearings. The guide rails to also carry slidably thereon the bearing blocks II and the roller l5 secured in the bearing block. Secured to the shaft 33 is the crank 34, which has adjacent thereto and loosely journaled on the shaft 33 the sector arm 35 which is adjustably locked to the fixed sector 36. The crank '34 carries a pin 31 which is urged against the sector 7 as when the knife strikes a knot in the shingle bolt, which will tend to urge the guide rail downward and the pin 31 away from the arm 35. The adjustment of the sectorarm 36 on the rack 36 shaft gaged by the appropriate cam I! mounted on the knife carriage. These cams will retract the support plate from under the bolt and raise them to let the knife pass under.

A stripper plate 5| extends partially across and under each of the-support plates 44. Each stripper plate has two rearwardly extending arms 52 which pivot about their rear ends. Each arm and plate is urged upwardlyby a bar 63 which is urgedupwardly by the spring 54 (Figure 2). Above, mounted on and carried by each deck at the forward part is a breast bar 65. Resting on each breast bar and sliding thereacross in suitable guides is the arm 56 of a suitable feeder head 51 which ,is adapted to be placed adjacent the end of the shingle bolt l3. Guidedin the feeder head is a ratchet slide 56 carrying on its lower portion a ratchet 59 that is adapted to engage in the end of the shingle bolt and force the bolt downwardly, but which may be raised and while so doing the ratchet 59 will pivot and disengage from the bolt. The ratchet slide is carried at the end of a ratchet arm 60 which is pivoted in a support 6| secured to the feeder head arm 56. The rear'end of the feeder head arm is guided for sliding movement in a suitable pedestal 62. The ratchet arm is pressed downwardly with respect to the feeder head arm by means of a spring 63 mounted between the two arms. -The feeder head arm and ratchet maybe moved along the deck plates so as to readily and easily engage the feeder head with the shingle bolt by means of a cam arranged to contact a plate at the rear under side of the feeder head arm. This cam 64 is secured to a 65 journaled on the deck. The shaft is rotated by linkages secured to a treadle 66 mounted below the machine. The feeder head is urged forwardly against the end of the shingle bolt determines the thickness of the butt end of the shingle. The eifectrof the spring 36 maybe varied by means of the spring 39 in parallel therewith and secured between one of the cranks 3| and an adjustable lever 40.

A shingle bolt-feeding mechanism is mounted at opposite ends of the machine to contact opposite ends of a bolt, each upon'a deck plate,"one fixed ll and one movable 42. In other respects the two deck plates, are similar, adjustment of one deck plate being provided so that shingle bolts of diiferentlengths may be accommodated in the machine. When a shingle bolt 43 is placed in the machine, with the knife withdrawn as shown in Figure 4, one-end of the bolt will rest upon one of the stop bars 9 and the other will rest upon a support plate 44. The support plate 44 has its forward edge curved downwardly and its by means of a spring 61'inounted between the breast bar and a pin secured on the under side of the feed head arm 56. The feed head and arm may be readily retracted from a position against the block by. steppi upon the treadle 66 which will operate the cam 64 to withdraw the feed head. It is to be noted that the action of the treadle 66 operates to retract both of the feed heads 51 located at opposite ends of the shingle bolt 43. The ratchet slide arm is actuated by one end of a lever 68 pivoted at the edge of the deck. Attached to the lever 68 is a cam follower- 69 that contacts one of the cams I! or l8 mounted upon the knife carriage. The arrangement insures a full tensioning of the feeder ratchets upon both ends of the shingle bolt.

The primary drive for the machine is shown in the form of an electric motor ll mounted upon the base of the machine, and driving by means of a belt 12 a flywheel 13 carried on a shaft extending longitudinally of the machine and located at one end thereof, this end being the end having the fixed deck. the flywheel shaft carries a beveled pinion in mesh with'two beveled gears 14, 15 loosely mount- The inner end of 2,365,982 tive jaw clutch 16 loosely keyed to theshaft 20* and adapted to drive the shaft in opposite directions through either gear I4 or 15. This positive jaw clutch I6 is slid along the shaft 20 by means of a shifting fork l1. The operation of the shifting mechanism may best be understood from Figure 16. The shifting fork I1 is carried on a shifting rod 18 which has mounted thereon two springs 19 which bias the shifting fork to the neutral (position. The shifting rod 18 is linked to an operating rod 80 so that rotation of the operating rod will slide the shifting rod. The operating rod has splines cut therein which are slidably keyed to cam followers -8l, 82 that areadapted to be engaged by the cam l6 carried by the knife carriage. The cams are splined to the operating rod so that they may be moved therealong for adjustment of the length of travel of the carriage. Each of the cam followers 8|, 82 is linked to a locking hand lever 83 located at opposite ends of the machine and above the deck so that the travel of the knife carriage may be adjusted with respect to each deck. A hand operated bar 84 is provided for fitting in a slot 85 in the shifting fork rod 18 to lock the shifting rod in neutral position. The shifting rod 18 extends through the side of the frame to be in a position for manual operation.

To operate the device a 'shingle'bolt, usually in the form of a sector of a length of a log, is placed in the machine with the flat side down, and one end resting upon a support bar 9 and the other end resting upon a support plate 44,.with the knife carriage withdrawn to one end-of the machine. The ratchet slide 58 may be lifted manually in order to tension the block or bolt downward against the support with the proper tension which will be a result of the tensioning of the feed dog, or ratchet spring 63 and the stripper plate springs 54. The thickness of the butt of the shingle is determined by the setting of the sector arm 38 on the sector 36, and the thickness at the tip end will be determined largely by the setting of the stripper plate springs 54 and the feed dog springs 63, the two springs before merrtioned. With the motor running, the neutral lock may be released and the machine thrown into gear by operation of the shifting fork' rod l 8, which will cause the carriage to move through the chain drive from the drive sprocket mounted on the drive shaft 20. The carriage will carry and guide the knife 1 against the end of the shingle bolt. The initial shock will be taken up by the springs 25 through which the chain drives onto the knife carriage. As the carriage approaches the opposite end of the bolt, one of the support plate cams l9, It will engage a support plate 44 to lift it and retract it from under the bolt, the weight of the bolt being carried on the knife. The stripper plate wi11 then tend to engage the tip of the shingle as the shingle is carried along by the roller 15 and a support bar I, which will strip the shingle from the carriage and cause it to drop beneath the machine. The

knife passes over the stripper and under the support plate. As the carriage nears the endof its travel the bolt feed cams 11, I8 willcontact one of the cam followers 69 to operate the ratchet slide I58 and its dog. At the end of the carriage travel, the reversing cam I8 carried by the carriage contacts one of the reversing cam followers Ii, 82 to actuate the shifting fork. The momentum of the carriage will carry the fork through neutral and the jaw clutch 16 into engagement with the opposite spur gear 15 or 16. When the knife passes beyond the shingle bolt, the bolt 5 drops down upon a stop bar 9 a distance below 1 the edge of the knife equal to the butt thickness of the shingle, I I Stepping 'upon the treadle 66 will retract the feed heads 51 t allow removal and insertion of the shinglebolt.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my invention, I claim:

1. A shake splitting machine, comprising: a bed-frame, a reciprocal carriage mounted in said frame and aving a splitting knife, means for reciprocating said carriage in said frame, a resilient downwardly acting pair. of workholder means adapted to engage a block by both its ends simultaneously for'splitting upon a pass of said re- 20 independently one of said workholder means for re-engaging and pressing one end of said block a downward upon the completion or the splitting of a shake from said block.

2. A shake splitting machine, comprising: a bed-frame, retractable support plates in said frame for supporting by its ends a block to be split, end pressure dogs pressing a supported block against the support plates, a carriage reciprocal in said frame and having a splitting knife, means for reciprocating said carriage, means for retracting one or said support plates from its supporting relation to said block upon the passage of said Knife through the end or the block supported by said plate, and means for indexing the pressure dog against the end of said block from whicn the kniie previously left .said block to reseat the block upon its supporting plate for the next pass of the splitting knife.

3; In a shake splitting machine, comprising: a 'bed-frame, a carriage reciprocal in said frame andhaving a splitting knife, means for reciprocating said carriage, a resilient support bar on either side or said knife movable with said carriage, retractable support plates in said frame in spaced apart relation from each other and adapted on occasion to support a work piece to be split, end pressure dogs pressing the work piece on one end against a support plate and on the other end against a resilient support, bar on said carriage, means for retracting one of said plates upon the pass of said knife through the end of the work piece being split and which is supported thereby to transfer the downwardly urged work piece to a resilient supporting bar moving with saidcarrlage in advance or the splitting knife. 4.1x shake splitting machine, comprising: a bed-frame, a carriage reciprocal in said frame and having a splitting knife, means for reciprocating said carriage, a resilient downwardly acting pair or work holder means adapted to engage a block by both its ends simultaneously for splitting upon ,a pass of said reciprocating knife, resllient means on said carriage pressing ainst a block on both sides of said knife during the splitting operation, and means for indexing independently one of said work holder means for reengaging and pressing one end of said block downward upon the completion of-a pass of the splitting knife.

I -RICHARD E. BIERD.

ciprocal splitting knife, and means for indexing, 

